Olde Home Days coming to East Hampton this weekend

JEFF MILL

Published 12:00 am, Wednesday, July 11, 2012

EAST HAMPTON - How do you define "fun"? In East Hampton this weekend, it's called Olde Home Days, and the celebration starts this evening.

The 34th annual event continues from this evening through Saturday night. The fun includes food, carnival rides, a 5K road race, bands, raffles, giveaways, and topping it all off, what organizers say is the largest parade in Middlesex County.

Ground zero for the fun is the large field bounded by Center School, the Congregational Church, and the town's post office.

More than just a great chance to have fun, the event also celebrates what one organizer said is "the spirit and force of our spectacular community."

Appropriately, he fun begins this evening with Bjorn the Magician performing from 6-7 p.m. he will be followed at 7:30 p.m. by Johnny 5, who will perform until closing at 10 p.m. At 8:15 p.m., there will be a bicycle raffle.

Friday, the Voodoo River Band will kick things off, playing from 6-8 p.m.

At 7:15 p.m., the Glorious Gallop 5K race will start at the Seven Hills Crossing, continue down Mott Hill and around Lake Pocotopaug before ending up at the Center School.

From 8-8:30, there will be a bicycle raffle and the winners of the 5K race will be announced.

Then, at 8:30, the Tim Charron Band will take the stage and play until closing time, which on Friday is 11 p.m.

Throughout the evening, there will be additional raffle drawings as well as the carnival rides, the food and all the things that make Olde Home Days the treat they are.

Saturday, the celebration concludes in grand style, starting with the Olde Home Days parade at 10 a.m. This year's theme is "The Golden Age of Television."

The parade steps off on North Maple Street, turns east onto Route 66, then south on Route 196 until it ends on Main Street at 1 p.m.

Once the parade is over, the high-stepping South Philadelphia String Band will shake things up at the event site from 1:30-2 p.m.

They will be followed by MOTO (from 2-3), The Convertibles (from 3:30-5), Mixed Signals (from 5:30-7:30), and Big Floppy Disk (from 8:15-11 p.m.)

There will be a Bubble Tent and a Hula Hoop Rodeo, raffle drawings and bicycle raffles throughout the afternoon, and "RafflePalooza" starting at 8 p.m.